THE LAST ‘FOREIGNER’ WALKED OUT OF ONE OF THE DETENTION CENTRE IN ASSAM
- May 31, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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THE LAST ‘FOREIGNER’ WALKED OUT OF ONE OF THE DETENTION CENTRE IN ASSAM
Subject : Governance
Context :Manindra Das- the last “foreigner” has walked out of one of the six detention centres in Assam, leaving about 170 more to be released from the other five.
Concept :
- Mahindra Das was tagged a ‘D-voter’ in 2015 and later declared a “foreigner” in a one-sided decision by a Foreigners’ Tribunal in 2019.
D-voter, or doubtful voter
- Those persons whose citizenship was doubtful or was under dispute were categorized as ‘D- Voters’ during the preparation of National Register of Citizens in Assam.
- They have not been defined in the Citizenship Act, 1955 or the Citizenship Rules of 2003.
Who is a declared foreigner?
- A declared foreigner, or DF, is a person marked by Foreigners’ Tribunal (FT) for allegedly failing to prove their citizenship after the State police’s Border wing marks him or her as an illegal immigrant.
Foreigners tribunal
- The Foreigner tribunals are set up under the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964.
- The tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies, to determine if a person staying illegally is a “foreigner” or not.
- Composition: Advocates not below the age of 35 years of age with at least 7 years of practice (or) Retired Judicial Officers from the Assam Judicial Service (or) Retired IAS of ACS Officers (not below the rank of Secretary/Addl. Secretary) having experience in quasi-judicial works.
- The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has amended the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, and has empowered district magistrates in all States and Union Territories to set up tribunals (quasi-judicial bodies) to decide whether a person staying illegally in India is a foreigner or not.
- Earlier, the powers to constitute tribunals were vested only with the Centre.
- The amended order (Foreigners (Tribunal) Order, 2019) also empowers individuals to approach the Tribunals.
- Earlier, only the State administration could move the Tribunal against a suspect